Falling Inside The Black
by ElenaBolton20
Summary: It's like she's fallen into a pit of darkness that she can't climb out of because the light has vanished. He remembers a shadow...a shadow with a soft voice, and soft touch. He remembers music. But nothing else...he came out of the ground, the sun dim behind clouds as rain splatters on his head. Where is he? What happened? Why was he buried? *Sequel to The Pianist*
1. Prologue

**Falling Inside The Black**

**Prologue**

When tragedy strikes, it hits us hard. Taking our breath and filling our lungs with fiery dread that comes out of our bodies as racking sobs that shake us. Sometimes we grieve in different ways, we can't deal with the thought of having to bury the ones we love. But we do.

It's been a fortnight, a fortnight since everything had happened, a fortnight since the sun had come out of hiding from big, grey bulbous clouds that seem to feel the pain that's just happened; the pain in Gabriella's heart. Her eyes are long since void of tears, but the proof of how much she's cried is crusted on her cheeks. She hasn't left her room, her mother is sicker than she has told anybody, her father- who Ryan returned home shortly after he went to get Adriana -works all day in the fields of the palace where Sharpay has forfeited her title of Princess to her brother to be the next heir.

Sharpay herself has disappeared from Faerie and hasn't been seen since. Honestly Gabriella doesn't care, her emotions died with Troy.

How long has it been since she's eaten? Slept? Neither, everytime she closes her eyes she see's Sharpay running at her with that knife and then the blade going into Troy's stomach. His blood on her hands as she tries to keep him on his feet.

"Gabi?" the small voice of her sister, Sophie, Gabriella doesn't turn but she hears it. "Gabi...the doggies that came with you...they are making those noises again." Ah, yes, the wolves that hung around Troy all the time; they came to Gabriella's cottage with her because they had refused- plain and simple -to set their furry paws in the castle. She hasn't seen David or Lorana either, but for some reason, she can feel them with her. Like...they never really left. A slow breath leaves her lungs, it's heavy and seems to add to the weight on her body.

"Feed them, then..." her voice is deadpan. Sophie bites her lip, her little fingers tying themselves into knots in front of her stomach as she looks at her older sister from under her lashes.

"They ate already, what's wrong with them?"

"Maybe they're sad." she says, again, in a deadpan tone.

"Are you sad, Gabi?" Gabriella turns to her, eying her as if she hasn't seen her little sibling in years. Sophie has grown taller, at least an inch or so, and her face is fuller with those dimples her father has and Gabriella too. Gabriella has seen herself in a mirror- a small mirror that doesn't count for anything -and she shudders. Her face is thinner and her eyes seem bigger because she hasn't eaten. Her hair is matted and uncombed, hanging in wild, stringy strands around her face; making her scar seem worse than what it is. Making her seem more of an animal than a woman of marrying age.

"Yes," she says, trying to hide her voice from hitching up in a crack. "I am.." her chin quivers, she feels it, perhaps she is not out of tears but they just refuse to fall any longer.

Sophie holds her arms out, a hug. Gabriella looks at her, "Soph-"

"Gabi, please? I haven't hugged you since you've been back...and you're sad. You need a hug." If there is cause to smile warmly, it's at that little girl's heartfelt words tumbling out of her eight year old mouth. Gabriella's mouth tips up at the corners but just barely, she hasn't smiled since that day.

Her heart was stabbed and ripped out and tossed on the ground, she's a shell of what she used to be. "Sophie, not now.."

Sophie sighs, letting her arms drop to her sides and her eyes looking down at the floor. "I wish you never left...you wouldn't be sad." with that being said, she turns and runs out of the room. Gabriella sighs again, looking out her window at the ugly, grey clouds. So befitting to her current state.

She's unhappy, so the village is- at least the weather is; there's still people laughing. Loving.

"I will never love again," Gabriella says to herself, closing her eyes as a lone tear slides slowly down her scarred cheek. It's like she's fallen into this black pit of darkness that she can't climb out of because all the light has vanished. She opens her eyes and looks up where she knows the moon will be, "I will always love you, Troy Bolton."

* * *

**It will, I promise and solemnly swear to you all, that it'll get better and happier. This is the sequel to "The Pianist". I thought to post the prologue my muse is all over the place right now...lol expect updates for "Crazy" and this story here!(:  
**

**Recaps/notifications:**

**-End of last story, Troy rose from the grace; thanks to the Angels. **I didn't want see him dead, so yeah...****

**-In this story, Troy will have his sight back, but he'll also have no memory of ever being royal or a snotty asshole or anything before. The only thing he remembers after digging himself out of the dirt is Gabriella's voice and her shadowed silhouette in his mind. Oh and playing the piano. **

**-Mariana is going to not be in this story for a long time, cause she's sick and dying. **

**-Sharpay has gone poof! **

**-Ryan married Adriana; both are friends with Gabriella.**

**-This story is going to focus around Gabriella and Troy; rising from the pit of darkness that everything that's happened thrust them into. **

****Enjoy the prologue! Review for more!**

**Elena xxxx**


	2. Chapter 1

_First official chapter! 3 reviews on the prologue, not bad...can we try for five? Is five too much to ask for? Let me know what you think. There are "visions" in this chapter, Troy doesn't know they are memories to him they are visions of him and a shadow woman. Troy, he only remembers his name, music (playing the piano), Gabriella (her shadow, cause he was blind and he doesn't exactly KNOW what she looks like). He has no memory of dying, being blind, being royal, his parents, the curse, Sharpay...Ryan...he has no memory of them...  
_

_This story is going to be interesting on every chapter. :) Hope you all like it!_

* * *

**Falling Inside The Black**

**Chapter One**

The birds sing their morning song, like always, twigs crunch under his boots as he lightly and with lithe grace moves around thorny branches. Ah, a morning hunt, just what he loves- one of two things, providing for his family and hunting for sport. Pausing in his steps, he breathes deeply and closes his eyes as he is overcome with a sense of peace and a sense- he turns his head to the left, a rustling in the bushes getting his attention. Sounds like a deer, he smiles, putting his rifle at the ready and aiming. "Here, deer.." he says softly, humming to the birds and bugs flying about the trees. "Don't be shy...come on out..."

Another rustle, he tightens his grip on his rifle and takes a step forward- a slow step so he doesn't scare away the beast. "Come out, come out-" there's a rustle to his right, he turns and then there is a rustle from where he aims his gun. Peeking from his peripheral, he glances askance to the right before he looks ahead to the bushes where he heard his prize. Inhaling deeply, he aims his rifle again and keeps both eyes open. His finger itching for the trigger...

His lips quiver in anticipation, a light breeze bristling his curly hair that's tied with a leather strap behind his head, his dark caramel eyes straining to focus before he shoots. Like thunder cracking on the wind in a storm, he fires into the bushes, momentarily the birds stop their song as a deer falls out of it's hiding spot. An elk. "Ye-he-es!" He whoops in celebration, tossing his rifle on his shoulder and marches to his kill to examine it before he takes it to his barn and guts and cleans it. He picks up a hoofed leg and examines it for signs of cuts and infections that are harmful to humans..nothing. A good kill. Smiling in triumph, he holsters his weapon on his back and lifts the animal carcass on to his shoulders so he can carry it back, when he turns he see's two legs; looking up, he see's a man covered head to toe in mud and dirt. His clothes all torn and dirty, his left shoulder is bare, save for something that looks like a really horrible burn on his skin.

"Hey," the hunter says, "you okay, sir?" the man looks at him, then looks all over the place; as if wondering silently where he is. His hair is askew and pointing in all directions like a broken compass. "Sir?" again, his gaze locks on him with a...an uncertainty.

"Where am I?" he asks, the hunter looks at him.

"Faerie-"

"I know that but...where?"

O...kay. "The Northern woods..just outside the grounds of the old Bolton palace."

There's a confusion in his gaze, his eyes dance all over the place; the hunter takes the time of silence to look at him more- however, he needs to get back to his farm, the deer on his back is weighing him down and he feels like his spine is going to crack in half. The man eye's are blue, his face...under all that dirt and grime is ...boyish. Like he can't be no more than at least later teens to early twenties. Well muscled. Long fingers. "Come on," he says, the man looks at him. "I have to get back...I have a carcass on my back that isn't getting lighter."

Suddenly the stranger smiles, "need help with that?"

Sweet relief, "that'd be wonderful. 'Preciate it." The man nods, sliding half the carcass on to his shoulders and the two walk home with a slow gait to their walk. "By the way," the hunter says, grunting with little effort, the blue eyed man on the other hand..."Name's Danforth. Chad Danforth."

The man looks at him from askance, he's breathing hard trying to keep the carcass on his shoulders. "Troy..."

"O...kay, Troy..got a surname to go with that?"

"I...I don't know."

"Don't know or you don't.."

"remember. I don't remember."

Odd. Chad makes a short 'huh' sound and then focuses again on getting the carcass on their backs to his place. "Well, let's get you cleaned up and warm clothes on your body, huh?"

Troy nods, "That sounds...great."

**...**

"Gabriella, you lovely, doll." She doesn't feel so grand, the softness of her mother's gown is...stiff and itchy on her body. She wants nothing more than to rip it off and run around naked. Okay, maybe that's a little much, but ...it's itchy and there's no need for her to wear it. "Just the spitting image of your grandmother." She looks at her mother, her bedridden mother who hasn't left the bed since she's been back and God knows however long prior. Her eyes are dull. Face gaunt.

"Must I wear this?" Gabriella says in a soft voice that is barely there, her mother frowns.

"Sweeting, your father and I want to see you taken care of-"

"I don't want to be married."

"He's a good man-"

"I don't know him." Lie, she knew the man her father has chosen her for, he's been her childhood friend since practically birth but she feels nothing for him while he feels everything toward her. He looks at her like she looked at Troy. Her stomach flutters and sinks at the thought of Troy; she's a woman in mourning. _I don't love him. _Of that thought she's absolutely certain. Marina sighs but it turns into a cough, running a hand through her matted hair.

"Gabi, Jason is a very good friend to you, always has been. He'll make a fine"- cough -"husband"- cough. Gabriella stares at her for a bit of time, then she looks down at the pretty dress on her body. It really is pretty; a light fluffy lavender that made her tanned skin appear darker. Her hair appear blacker as it hits the middle of her back. She touches the scar on her face; how it mars her outside looks...

_It never bothered Troy. _

_Well Troy's dead isn't he?_

_He's alive in my heart. _

_Move on...Jason's a great guy-_

_No. I love Troy...I always will. _

Maybe she should've told him when he was still alive. Sighing, she looks at her mother again, who has fallen asleep- poor dear, she's so sick and ill that she falls asleep irregularly. Sighing, Gabriella goes to the side of her mother's bed and tucks the blankets around her. Her face blank and expressionless, just like any sign of emotion that wants to desperately dig it's way to the surface. This arranged marriage? How does Gabriella really feel about it? She wants to kick and scream and run to Troy's grave and pray that she die to be with him in death so she wouldn't have to go through with it, but her mother and papa would be ashamed of such childlike behaviour.

She must deal with it like a grown up would.

By stuffing her feels down so deep that they can't claw their way out until she isn't expecting it or until she wants them out for everyone to see.

**...**

"DADDY!" Yells the bouncy five year old, running to Chad as he and Troy come up the small rise to his house. He stops in his tracks, smile and eyes gleaming brightly in the morning. "Is this for breakfast daddy?"

Chad laughs, "I'm not sure...would your mama like having venison for breakfast." From the small cottage there is a shrill shriek that makes him laugh harder and then his son attaching himself to his leg; holding tight. Troy looks at the father and son, breathing with exertion from carrying the elk on his shoulders. Suddenly the boy looks at him, and a shyness comes over him and he hides further behind Chad's leg.

"Daddy, whose that?" Chad looks from his son to Troy.

"This is Troy. He just..." he searches for the correct way to phrase it to a child. "...got lost in the woods."

The boy nods, looking at Troy again. Why does Troy feel like he's under scrutiny from this young'un? He swallows. "Why is he dirty?" now Chad looks at him.

"I don't know, but I promised he can get cleaned up here and some fresh clothes, buddy, why don't you get your mother and tell her that me and our guest will be in the barn cleaning the kill." The boy nods quickly and runs back to the cottage furiously, Troy looks at Chad.

"Cute kid." Chad smiles, shaking his head.

"Hell on two feet, but yeah...he is. Come on."

The two walk slowly into the barn, tossing the carcass off their backs and then taking a breather- more for Troy's benefit than Chad's, who just smirks out of amusement. "Never been hunting before I take it." Troy looks at him from his position of resting his hands on his knees, his eyes peeking from his dirty, clumped lashes.

"I don't remember that either..." Chad looks him over with a burning curiosity, his brows knitting together and so many questions dancing on his tongue he can taste them, but before he can ask away, Troy beats him to it by saying, "I don't remember anything except my name and...this woman's voice." Oh that was something.

"A woman? Like a betrothed?"

Troy shrugs, "I don't know...when I see her- in my mind -she's just a shadow with a voice...oh but the voice is beautiful." His voice is wistful, his eyes flutter closed, seeing that black shadow now, hearing it's -her- voice. Soft and welcoming. Calming. He remembers that when he first...dug...his way out of the ground- still not necessarily knowing why he was buried in the first place, but he'll figure out why...

_"Troy..." _his name from her was so...was such a welcome from the stress of digging himself from the earth that he at first thought he was going mad, but the more he wandered the forest, covered in mud and his hair all matted with no memory except his own name, this woman's voice and short, petite framed silhouette in his mind he walked and walked...and then he felt like he heard music in the trees, but decided that must have been in his mind too. The music was wonderful, a joyous yet melancholy sound that made him feel weightless and the colours of the woods...they blended well to the music in his mind.

"Troy." He shakes his head to see Chad looking at him, concern etched deep in his eyes but his lips turned up in the corners in a smirk. "You remember this woman...but in your..head you see a shadow?"

"I know it sounds...mad, but..." he exhales, not knowing what to say, but wanting to continue speaking.

"No...it doesn't, but ...don't worry, you'll find this mystery girl." Troy can hope. He is hoping. This woman in his head that's only a shadow with a soft voice that is so...gentle, he aches to meet her. He nods solemnly to Chad who claps his hands together, "well, I'll start cleaning and gutting our friend here, while you wash up. No offense, you stink."

Troy laughs, running his grubby hands through his filthy hair, standing straight and looking around; seeing a tub in the far corner of the barn, hidden by a single horse's stall. Thank God for privacy. He walks to the tub, and then he fills it with water from the basin that horse's drink out of. Better than nothing, water is water. Stripping down, he sticks his toe in, grimacing at the cold briefly before he steps in and sinks down; the cool washes over his body.

That's when a sight hits him, the barn disappears and the sounds of giggles fill his ears. Women's hands on his face. Heat pulsating through his body. And then _her _voice filling his ears and clouding his thoughts.

_"Oh! I'm..I'm- forgive me- I-"_

_"Please, don't bother to apologize."_

Why was his beloved shadow figure apologizing to him in this vision? _"By the by, I didn't hear you come in...are you half ghost?" _

_"No-no...I just, I know how to be quiet." He laughs again, running his fingers through his hair and this time he doesn't try to stop. Gabriella bites her lip, looking down; her fingers twisting in her hands._

_"Stop..." she whispers, he must not hear her cause he is still laughing. She groans in irritation, taking a step closer to that tub- or maybe it is perhaps her desire controlling her body and emotions that caused her step forward and more forward to the point that are no bubbles in the water and she can see every inch of his naked being. And that means every inch by undressed inch. Something in her clenches as her breath hitches. "Please stop laughing.." perhaps now that's she closer- for whatever reason -he'd hear her and stop laughing as per her request._

_"I'm...ha! Forgive me!" He's still laughing, clutching his ribs. She bites her lip, looking down at the water; trying to focus on just that and not what's inside it, but that doesn't stop the fact that she is barely breathing and her heart is beating...pounding...rabbit kicking in her chest. "Stop.." she sweeps her hand in front of her, causing her fingers to brush against the water; scooping some up in her palm and then...hitting him in the face with it. He instantly stops laughing and looks- well, moves his blind eyes to where she is._

_"So..." he mutters, "you do have teeth."_

Who is this woman who plagues his thoughts with ...wiling beauty? He must know. He would dig into hell itself to find out who she is, tomorrow he'll begin his search for her...if he knew where to start, he doesn't know what she looks like at all.

He scrubs himself, wiping with his palms, the mud and dirt off his body and face, when it's only his hair that needs rinsing, he closes his eyes and slides down into the tub so that he's completely immersed and his body visibly relaxing as he thinks of his shadow woman. The music in his head. Soon, it's all he can see and feel in his head, her shadow and hearing her voice.

_"Ah ha ha!" She tosses her head to the side, "Troy! P-ple...sto-stop!" He laughs at her pleading, tickling her more and more. He shakes his head, scooting closer so that his knees touch the wall of the tub. And his shaft is now stabbing her pleasurably in her sex._

_"No. You splashed me. I'm punishing you." Oh this is a punishment? She tries to grip his shoulders but it's near impossible when he is tickling her with such ferocity. When she finally manages to grasp his shoulders, she pushes him back, straddling him- where had the bravery come from? The water sloshes around them, and suddenly all playful fun stops when she realizes how close their faces are. They are both breathing heavy, she clears her throat as she slowly brings her hand up to remove some of his wet hair out of his face. He really is...quite a beautiful man. Handsome and sturdy. She's aware of his hands on her hips, but does nothing to tell him to remove them; he does that himself when he slides his left hand up her side, stopping at her shoulder when she tenses at how close he is touching her dismantled looking face. _

_"What do you look like ...?" _-her name in his mind is muted, he cannot hear it, but he's lost in the tenderness of the moment of this vision- _He whispers, playing with the tip of her now-damp hair. "I want to see you.." she bites her lip, lifting his other hand from her hip and placing it on the right side of her face. She gasps at how warm his hands are on her flesh, she leans into his touch as he's examining her skin with his fingertips. And then he touches the left side with his other hand._

_He feels his heart stop at the scars on her face, how her left eye dips down and her lips turn down in a half sneer. What happened to her? Was this when she ran away earlier...he feels guilt build up in him that he couldn't protect her from whatever had attacked her- "Childhood injury." She whispers, he tilts his head to the left. "I had gone into the woods...after my father..." her voice is soft, as if she's miles away. His thumb traces her lips. God, he'd give anything to see her; to actually see her. "It was a wolf."_

_"Surely a wolf can't leave marks like this-" he feels her nod in interruption, his heart...well, he doesn't know what happened, but his heart seemed to have swelled beyond the capacity his chest can hold. She had been hurt. "Where was your father at the time this happened to you?" She snaps her eyes open, glaring at him. Is he accusing her father-_

_"My father is not responsible for this!"_

_"I didn't say that, I just merely asked where-"_

_"No!" _the word makes him jump out of the water, spurting harshly- so harsh that Chad runs over, quickly wiping his hands off on a rag as he pats his back roughly.

"Are you okay?" He coughs, wiping his eyes and pinching his nose to get the water out so he can properly breath.

"I-I..."- cough -"I'm fine...just.." he's not fine. The tender moment between him and his beloved shadow ruined by ...what had happened exactly? He may not know that, but he knows one thing. "I know something..."

"Something?" Chad looks at him, he nods, reaching for a horse blanket to wrap around his hips as he stands from the tub.

"About her...the shadow I see..."

Oh. "What is it?"

This might make him sound mad or...yes, it'll make him sound completely mad, but it's one step to finding her. "She has a scar ..on her face."

"A scar?" Chad asks in disbelief, Troy nods. "How do you know this?"

How does one explain that they felt it in a vision they had while taking a soak in the tub? They don't. It sounds mad and crazed, so Troy shrugs lamely and says nothing. Chad sighs, shaking his head, "well...think more on it later, let's get you some clothes. I'll be back." Troy watches him leave and looks at his surroundings, and then his eyes coming to rest on his left shoulder. Looking as if it'd been burned, it is marked with a hand-print.

_Grabbed from hell by the Devil. _He scoffs, why else would he wake up in a grave and a hand-print scorched into his flesh...surely, he must have been to hell and come back to live to tell it.


	3. Chapter 2

**Falling Inside The Black**

**Chapter Two**

_*The next day*_

The day isn't hot, there are clouds in the sky that threaten rain. Heavy showers from what Chad had said, Troy had asked him how he knew that. "I'm a peasant, Troy." He says to him, pulling a bale of hay from the pile outside the barn and throwing it over his shoulder as he walks to the horse's stables to feed the horse's their breakfast, watching him and thinking it can't be that hard, Troy grabs one of the bales, heaving out a breath and blowing his hair from his face...damn this thing is heavy, how Chad manages to swing it on to his back and walk upright, Troy will never know.

He can barely drag it.

With his arms quivering, sweat building on his brow, he tugs on it and drags across the ground...of course, such action does cause the bale to come apart, but that doesn't stop him. Dragging the heavy bale until his muscles ache from exertion, he gets to the fence of the stables, only then does he stand up and crack his spine by bending back and looking at the sky, then he grabs his hips and closes his eyes to catch his breath. Chad pats his shoulder.

"Nice effort, Troy." he says, Troy looks at him.

"It...it's heavy...how do you..." it doesn't help to speak when he's still out of breath, considering that he is excellent physical shape, apparently it seems that he hasn't worked like that before, so...what has he done?

Chad smiles, "it just takes practice and hard work, which, you will gain if you continue to help ...here come, I'll help you lift the bales." Troy nods, grateful for the offering, Chad and his family is kind. They let him stay last night, and had said that he's welcome for as long as he wants to use the loft in the barn. Again, he's grateful, seeing as he cannot remember where he is from along with his last name...with only the soft voice of a shadowed woman in his head who invades his dreams and he wakes up with naught but heavy, panting breaths and a long hard erection.

He's been questioning to himself, were the him and this woman...were they involved? He stares down at his left hand, no wedding band on his finger, so he wasn't- isn't -married or tied to anyone, so...he must have been with this woman. At least, consorting with one another...maybe.

How else does one explain it? Waking with an erection each morning and the only way to get rid of it is to relieve himself with his hand...

Following Chad to the barn, where there's more hay to be transferred to more than just the horse's stable, he contemplates the whole thing of him being with this mysterious woman. Who is she? Why does he only see her as a shadow in his head and hear her voice?

Where are his family? His gut wrenches and his heart aches for the knowledge that he yearns to know but can gain no answers from the good natured, good hearted farmer that took him in. _Troy..._ grabbing on to a strap of leather that ties to a haybale, he pauses briefly, hearing a whisper in his ear. It sounds nothing like his shadow woman's voice, but it too sounds familiar. _Troy...we must speak to you. _Shaking his head, he grips the leather strap firmly, both him and Chad take deep breaths, and heave the thing on their backs, walking to the chicken coop...they are to line the coop with hay.

But the voice doesn't stop...it's a withered sound; like an old woman speaking while she has a cold or a some other ailment that affects her speech capabilities. She whispers as if she's right next to him, blowing her words in his ear.

"We should be at least by midday." Chad says, wiping the sweat from his brow, Troy looks at him, his brows scrunching- his face must have been comical because Chad doubles over and leans back in laughter. Troy narrows his gaze.

"I can do it." he says, his voice filled with determination. Chad looks at him, sobering slightly, but his laughter still evident in his eyes.

"Nay, I didn't say you couldn't..." chuckle, "it's just ...your face when I had said when we should be done-"

"DADDY!" the men swivel their heads on their necks, seeing the bouncy son of Chad running as fast as his legs could carry him before he crashes into his father's calves. Troy learned his name last night to be Ezekiel Danforth, he's only five, but sometimes he acts and speaks much older.

Wisdom is a trait that is often lost to old age or boys who grow to be men who then turn blind to the golden hand of greed. Chad laughs, bending over and picking up the five year old in his arms. "Ezekiel, what are you doing? You're supposed to be helping your mother in the house-"

"She said that she's going to make a pie tonight, daddy! She wants berries, she said if I asked you I can pick some...please daddy..please!" his eyes big and pleading as he looks at his father, Chad smirks, looking at his son then at Troy.

"What do you think Troy? Ever been berry picking?" his jaw goes slack for a moment, he scratches the back of his head as he tries to find some memory of him in the woods, surrounded by trees and bushes with berries on it and a pail in his hand as he picks them. He see's naught, but here's music in his head...it's a soft melancholy tune that twists his stomach and makes his fingers twitch. Aching to play the tune so it won't be in his head no longer.

"I...don't recall, maybe I have...I don't know." the worst words to say, but it's the best Troy can offer to the father and son.

"Well then," Chad says, "you'll just have to come with us then haven't you then?" Troy looks at them, unsure of what to say, he just nods and watches as Chad puts Ezekiel down and they walk to the barn to gather the pails. Troy has one in his hand, Chad has one, and Ezekiel has one...

They set off for the woods.

\.

"We did a bad thing...we did a bad thing." The middle witch mumbles to herself, pacing back and forth in the prison that's kept her and two sisters confined for months. Her craggly hands covering each other, knotted fingers tied and twisted together as her grey hair is flat on her shoulders. The thing with this prison, their powers don't work, so she and her sisters can't become one and turn into the enchantress. All powers are neutralized.

Bollucks.

"Oh would you shut it," says Apolloma, her black eyes narrowed in annoyance as she watches her young sister pace. She herself is sitting in the corner, her knees drawn to her chest as she contemplates a way to get out of here. Sure, how they got in was simple enough. They were imprisoned for putting a curse on a young man that wasn't sanctioned by the Hall of Magic, and then they ...asked a favour from Heaven to pull the man from his grave.

Well, that last part was a good deed-

"We deserve to be here-"

"Lillyana!" Apolloma yells, standing up and marching to her, shoving her to the wall. "Shut up, we will get out of here!" Lillyana, with her wide grey eyes, nods quickly as if fearing her older sister's wrath. They may look old, but they are all merely in their thirties. They're just cursed...

Something to do with ...releasing the Devil's demons on earth and then...almost unlocking the gates to the cage itself. They fixed the problem! They just..their actions just had consequences, and they have to serve their punishment. Which is two lifetimes as withered old biddies with grey hair and ugly faces.

"Can you two shut it? Both of you." Apolloma and Lillyana look toward the door of the prison, the youngest sister, Artimara, stands there just looking at the sky with the sun that never sets but never rises. This hell realm was created as a prison for those who misuse the magic that they were given or born with. Shaking her head, Artimara turns toward her sisters. Her eyes grim. "We'll get out of here...we just need patience."

"How can you be certain?" Lillyana asks, her brows knitting together between her eyes. Ever the pessimist. Artimara rolls her eyes, looking back at the forever sun that is stuck in mid set and mid rise.

"I feel it in my bones; it's a shiver and a shudder, we'll be free."

\.

The sun is beginning to set on the orchard of trees, and one of the three had eaten more than they picked. However, they laughed quite a bit ...especially when Ezekiel made a berry mustache on his face and made his hair even curlier than it is. "Look! I'm daddy!" Chad had rolled his eyes and chased him over the grass, Troy smiled secretly, picking the berries and placing them in the bucket that Chad had given to him.

Now the hour is drawing to supper, and the three of them are now walking back to the farm where Taylor Danforth stands on the porch of the small house. "There you are!" she calls out when the three of them come into view, "I was beginning to worry." Troy has grown to care for the woman, like a sister who he's never met and at this moment..cannot remember. He would give anything to know the woman he see's in his mind.

Her shadow and her voice, they are all he knows; but just from that, she must be beautiful.

Her voice is like a melody, being hummed in his ear by the softest sound imagineable and only he can hear it; he can remember soft touches when he sleeps, they feel so real when he closes his eyes to sleep when he is abed in the loft in the barn.

Oh, he wishes he can only meet her in person- if he knew what she looks like. Instead, he only has a voice to go by; well, so be it, that's how he'll find her.

* * *

**Sorry for the delay, majour writer's block...which sucks ass. Anyway, the idea for this chapter of being mostly Troy based is from xCupcakeMuffinx- also check out her stories "AcaWhat?", "Retribution" and "Left For The Sharks" ...they are awesome(: and also, be sure to check out my story "Genoa City Pack" - for all you Young and The Restless fans out there! - or just my fans in general, feed back for that story would be really helpful. Thanks a mil!**

**Hope you all like this chapter! Don't forget to review!**

**~Elena xxx**


	4. Chapter 3

**Falling Inside The Black**

**Chapter Three**

The sound of carriage wheels slow down, the nauseous feeling that Gabriella has is now settling into something…eh, a little more bearable, but she's never liked riding in carriages.

Correction, there was a time when she didn't mind it. But that moment died when Troy did. Sighing, she looks out the window, her eyes covered by the cowl of her hooded cloak and her fingers knotted in front of her. Today her fear comes true.

Today, her living nightmare closes in.

Today she see's her betrothed.

"Gabi," Gregor says, grasping his oldest daughters hand, "please cheer up. It's been weeks- months -since Troy died-"

"And you expect met to just forget him?" Gabriella says, her eyes narrowing as she glares at her father through her hood; her hair covering her scarred face. Troy was the only one who saw her without seeing her, he didn't judge her by her scar.

"Of course not, dear, I'm just saying-"

"Papa, I'm agreeing to meet with Jason….but I'm doing so civilly…not friendly." Gregor sighs, watching his daughter lean back in an unladylike manner and fiddle with her fingers. The dress she wears, blue taffeta with white ruffles around the hem at her ankles, is a little tight in the bodice- then again, she's larger in the bust than her mother was at her age.

"Jason is a nice man. He's a good fit for you." He mumbles it under his breath, he doesn't want to upset her any more than she already is. She's so bitter…ever since Troy's death, she's been bitter. Wallowing in her sadness until it's an all consuming darkness.

Ruining what purity her soul holds. The carriage comes to a stop, and the Cross coachman opens the door, letting out Gregor first and then Gabriella- who has a less than pleasant look on her face, but doesn't speak a word.

Not even a 'Thank you'.

Gregor is too intimidating to chastise her for her lack of good graces and manners.

"Come, Gabriella." Gregor says, taking his daughter's hand in his and resting it in the crook of his elbow as they both walk to the door.

The Cross palace in Fiore- the sister village to Faerie -isn't grand, but it's far from simplicity. The door is elaborate and made of strong dark mahogany wood; laced with tendrils of gold roses. The windows are stained glass; the hues are green, blue and yellow with white and red. The castle walls are brick and limestone, the whole palace seems to glow with a sort of…imperious air, like the people inside it know they have money and they flaunt it.

Gabriella looks about, seeing children playing or the older children going about their daily chores. Father's are off somewhere and mother's are tending the houses. "Seems rich." she mutters, her father rolls his eyes, when they reach the elaborate door, he pounds on it with the brass knocker twice. A portly butler opens the door; his chin is tripled than what a man's chin should be and his eyes are beady they remind Gabriella of a small rodent. His nose in the air like he smells something bad.

"Yes?" he asks in a tone that suggests he thinks he's better than the job he has.

"Uhm, hello.." Gregor says, clearing his throat to speak clearly. "I have brought my daughter, Gabriella, to meet the son of your king." The butler eyes the two of them with a scrutiny that makes Gabriella feel two things. One, shudder in awkwardness, two, the urge to slap his portly round face off his head so it hit's the nearest flat surface.

"The king and his son," the butler says, as if Gregor should know this. "are in the archery field."

"Oh-" Gabriella interrupts her father from speaking.

"Then perhaps you can tell your master he's got guests or me and my father can be on our merry way and the engagement can be off."

"Gabriella!" Gregor chastises her, eyeing her with blazing eyes and flaring nostrils. He looks at the butler again, who just has an unamused expression on his face. "I apologize-"

"Just keep her in her place, sir." The butler says with a bored tone, opening the door wider and allowing them inside. "Your things will be brought to the guest chambers, and I will make the Laird and his son that you two have arrived." He disappears after that, shutting the door in his wake.

Gregor turns on Gabriella. "Learn your place, Gabriella!" He hisses through clenched teeth, he would never strike his daughter but then again, he's never felt the need to.

Until now.

She looks at him with a numb expression, "I was only being honest-"

"Sometimes honesty isn't needed on some occasions, like now-"

"I don't want to be here, father!"

"He is to be your husband-"

"A husband I will never love!"

Gregor takes a dangerous step closer to her, his eyes blazing like black fire. "Marriage isn't about love, Gabriella." Just then Laird Cross and his son, Jason, enter the foyer. Just as Gabriella's lip quivers and her eyes fill with tears that won't fall.

"Do you love mama?" Gregor stares back at her, his eyes leaving their narrowed state, and his heart beating fast and slow; a rhythmic pattern, as he tries to calm himself.

"Well," Laird Cross says, gaining both of their attention, "I'd say welcome, but….when a father and daughter have a spat in my foyer, it's obvious they'd made themselves at home."

Gabriella looks down, making sure her cowl is up over her head; covering the left side of her face. Jason walks up to her, taking her hand in his and placing a kiss on the back of it when he moves up the sleeve of her gown. "It's lovely to see you again, Gabriella."

She suppresses a shudder, and imagine's that it was Troy who kissed her hand. "Likewise…" she mumbles, Jason smiles, putting his forefinger under chin and lifting her head to him.

He still cannot see her face, but she can see his. His raven hair coming down to hang over his eyes in a black fringed curtain, his face isn't portly or round but muscled- she can tell by the muscles that flex in his jaw when he speaks. His eyes are a light caramel brown; opposites to her almost black ones….

"Perhaps we can …get to know each other?" He says, smiling politely. Gabriella doesn't speak, she just keeps playing the simple fool. Laird Cross smiles, chuckling deeply as he claps his on the back.

"That is a wonderful idea!" he looks at Gregor, "there is brandy in the lounge for me and you…a drink?" Gregor sighs, running his fingers through his graying hair.

"It sounds great." the Laird, claps Gregor on the back, leading him down a hallway that's lined with portraits and suits of armor.

Jason's demeanor changes and, as soon as they are alone, he grasps her shoulders tightly and drags her into a private lounge. It must be his because no one is in there, "now…" he growls, pressing her against the wall, bracing her in with his arms on either side. "Let's take a look at your face shall we?"

Gabriella shakes her head, trying to hold her cowl in place as he pulls it off. "I've already been informed of your disfigurement you ugly cow, now…let's see how bad it is." she shakes her head again, but he yanks it off her head- along with ripping off her whole cloak.

She feels exposed.

He clucks his tongue, grabbing her chin and making her look at him. "You really are ugly."

Tears swarm her eyes, this isn't her childhood friend that she's had since birth. This man is spoiled, selfish and unkind…

"If I must have _you_ for a wife then your family must be desperate to get rid of you." She chokes on tears, shaking his hand from her chin and shoving him away.

"Jason…we're friends-"

"Were." He says, glaring at her, "we were…until I wrote you that letter that you rejected me over!"

"That…" she swallows, "that was six years ago-"

"It doesn't matter how long ago it was, what matters is that you are no destined to be my bride…and let me show you what you will be looking forward to as my _wife._" Gabriella swallows, Jason grips her shoulders and drags her to a orange -ugliest colour in the land, in Gabriella's opinion -settee, he would've thrown her on it but she pulls away from him, spits in his eyes and knees him in the groin.

She makes her escape, running from that private lounge to the foyer and out the door. Not bothering with her cloak, but just wanting to leave. The carriage driver has left, but he had left behind the carriage and horse- the latter of which is now drinking from a water basin. Gabriella climbs on it, kicking it's sides and running for the menacing woods into the sunset.

"Oh papa," Gabriella cries, "what have you gotten me into?"

* * *

**My computer crapped out; I'm pricing out a new moniter and keyboard ... but for now, updates will be slow as molasses. **

**Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter, leave a review with your thoughts!**

**Loves, **

**Elena xx**


	5. Chapter 4

**Falling Inside The Black**

**Chapter Four**

"Troy…" says Chad's son, Troy looks up from where he's laying on a pile of straw and a wool blanket. Smiling at the child.

"Yes?" Ezekiel smiles, walking toward the older man and sitting on the ground in front of him; crossing his knees and drilling his fingers against the floor. Troy puts down the scroll he was reading- he finds it relaxing, oddly enough he remembers knowing how to read, but not how he learned….

Curse his horrid memory.

Ezekiel is silent for a moment, looking around then at Troy, before he huffs out a breath. "Why do you talk in your sleep?" Troy's eyes widen, unaware of two things; one, that he did such a thing, and two, that Ezekiel knows he does.

"Why would you say I talk in my sleep?" Troy asks, sitting up at attention and wrapping his hand around his wrist. Rubbing the skin there in nervousness.

Ezekiel shrugs, "I came in one morning to wake you for breakfast, and you were talking…I thought you were awake, but you weren't." Troy swallows, scratching the back of his head and standing up from his straw bed and pacing around the barn before stopping in front of the little boy. He looks guilty. "I didn't mean to pry-"

"No no," Troy says, kneeling to see eye-to-eye with him. "It's quite all right, it's just…what was I saying?"

"You kept saying a name of some girl and…." his voice trails off as he looks down at the barn floor, picking at stray pieces of straw and up at Troy; who is looking at him, expecting him to finish but not saying a word about him keeping quiet. He takes a breath, "you made weird breathing noises…"

Troy arches a brow, "breathing noises?"

The child nods, "yes, like the kind mama and papa make when they are alone in their room at night-"

"All right." Troy says, covering Ezekiel's mouth, "I get it, now…just, if you come in to wake me again…just wake me."

His eyes twinkle, "how?"

"Shake my shoulder…flick my nose-"

"Pour water on you?"

Troy inwardly cringes but mechanically nods his head, "yeah…sure, no."

Ezekiel laughs, throwing his arms around Troy's neck and hugs him tightly. Troy returns the hug and stands up with him, "let's get you back to the house, does Taylor know you're out here?" Ezekiel pouts and hides his face in Troy's shoulder. Troy nods, "that's what I thought."

\.

"What do you mean she's gone?!" Roars Gregor, his face turning from red to blue, blue to purple in a matter of seconds. "I left her with you-"

"And I apologize for not watching her properly, sir." Jason says, hiding the fact that his groin still aches from Gabriella's knee when she rammed him with it, and his eyes still sting from her spit. He smiles at her father. "She ran off when I took her hand like a gentleman."

Jason's father sighs, pouring himself a whiskey and offering one to Gregor, who takes one politely and downs it in one swallow. He turns to Jason, "where did she go?"

"I know naught, but she's a wildfire…burning and ready to spread." Jason inwardly laughs at his own joke, and then mentally adds cruelly, _she will be aptly punished when I find her. And I will. _

"Gregor," says Laird Cross calmly, patting the other man on the shoulder, "give Gabriella time, I'm sure she'll return before nightfall tomorrow."

Gregor sighs, "I hope your right…this marriage …it's everything to me and her mother. We want her taken care of."

Jason takes a sip of his whiskey, not physically speaking what he says in his mind. _oh, worry not, once we are married, she will be taken care of. My way. _

\.

The horse runs farther into the wood, it's mane stinging Gabriella in the face; her hair flying back behind her like black fire. Her hands grip the reigns tightly, her knuckles turning white. She wills the horse faster, and it obeys. "Come on, girl…come on," she pats it's neck and kicks it's sides with her heels.

It gallops faster, running into thick trees that are clustered together. The branches whip her skin; tearing her gown.

She doesn't like it anyway, sure it was her grandmother's, but it's not Gabriella's personal favorite. "That's it…faster.."

The horse jumps over a fallen log, but the low branch whacks Gabriella in the face. She doesn't have a moment to scream as she flies off the horse, landing face first on the ground; her nose making that cracking sound that sickens her and her arm bending awkwardly underneath her. Tears form in Gabriella's eyes, she bows her head so it's buried in the dirt and her hair falls out in different directions.

She cries in pain and from what she was running from. Also from the knowledge that she just ran away from her family…again. By now the horse is gone, and Gabriella can't think straight to get up and walk, the only movement she can think to do is arrange herself so she's in a tight ball, hugging her injured arm between her knees and chest, her nose bleeding profusely.

She cries still; she cries until she feels her sobs make her feel heavy with dreary sleepy and her eye lids fall over her eyes; cascading her in darkness.

* * *

**Short chapter? Yes. Action packed? I think so. Comedy? Some parts, especially between Troy and Chad's son, Ezekiel. **

**I hope you all like this chapter, again, let me apologize and say that my computer is still down. Food and rent is more important at the moment, but I'm trying to get it fixed/replaced. **

**I made a trailer a while back, before my computer went down. Look up Tenney Maree and it should be in my uploaded videos. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter. **

**Yes I injured Gabriella. I'm psychotic. **

**Loves, **

**Elena xxx**


	6. Chapter 5

**Falling Inside The Black**

**Chapter Five**

_David,_ Lorana sighs, a whimper escaping her muzzle as she sniffs the ground; which is warming up from the winter. Her ears are flat on her skull, her tail wags slowly, her paws click on the ground as her husband lays in a furry heap by the door of the cottage. Life…is simple. Easy. Why couldn't it be like this before?

Oh yes, the curse. Troy's death. Everything that happened in such a short time seems like eons ago…

How could that be? Lorana shakes out her coat, trotting over to her husband and nudges his side. _David!_ He whimpers, lifting his head and looking at her with what would be a glare if he was human.

_What?_ He licks his chops. She doesn't budge or step back, she holds her ground.

_I feel something…like something is going to happen or is happening._

He lets out a yawn, stretching his paws in front of him as he stands up, looking at his wife again. _L, I told you…we're safe here—_

_It has nothing to do with us! _She growls, shoving him with her muzzle, _I feel it in my bones. It's Troy…I think he's…I think he's alive._

_Lorana, he's dead. We saw him—_Lorana interrupts him, howling into the air, throwing her head back before bringing it back to glare at him.

_I know! It's just a gut feeling!_ Suddenly the wind howls, swirling around them, picking up the leaves that have started falling and clouds cover the houses in the village. Lorana and David look around wildly, howling into the swirling mass, they hear cackling and the world around them seems to glow for a brief second.

Then silence.

"Ha!" A women jeers, "I'm free of that hell!" her hair is gray and matted, her skin is withered, but she seems vaguely familiar. She eyes David and Lorana, squinting her eyes and folding her arms over her chest.

_Why is she looking at us?_ Lorana asks, twisting her eyes back and getting ready to growl ferociously, David whines, stepping forward cautiously. The woman smiles, and walks confidently to the two of them.

"Ah, the Bolton king and queen—turned to wolves and not ever turned back." David and Lorana whine, looking at her curiously. She continues to speak, "where is your son? Dead?" they whine and bow their heads, she laughs out loud and picks up their heads. David growls, fighting to release himself from her wrinkled hands.

"He is alive! I made sure! Gah, stupid witches—always messing with things. They want to teach lessons? Fine, go ahead…but don't use corrupting magic that includes contracts—bah!" Lorana looks at David in confusion.

_What is she talking about? Who is she?_

_I don't know…but I hate being manhandled. _The woman claps her hands and suddenly, her blue robes lift and white wings appear from her back; her hair flies around her face as it turns a beautiful red and her eyes a swirling blue. She smiles.

"I am Guilding; an angel of the Lord." Even as wolves, Lorana and David felt their jaws drop, before they could muster enough vocal energy to bark, Guilding closes her eyes and holds her hands to both their furry heads, their fur glows as their bodies tingle. They whine and bark, growling as they wonder what's happening but they don't have the time to directly attack her.

Not when five minutes later, they are standing on two legs, stark naked with wild hair. Lorana looks down at her bare feet and hands, then at David; her eyes immediately going to the spot on his body where his dark hair meets in a cluster that shows off his …mmm…

"David," she breathes out, meeting his eyes. He's just as shocked, lifting a hand and to cradle her face.

"Lorana…" she smiles, he returns it and is almost about to kiss her but Guilding clears her throat. They turn to face the angel, who seems to not be bothered by their nudity.

"If you wish to find your son, then we must make haste and find you dressings, but if you wish to stay and love each other endlessly," she shrugs, "then by all means, kiss and thrust." The two of them blush, Lorana wraps her arms around her body. Guilding smirks and turns to start walking into the woods.

"Wait." David calls, lifting a burlap off the ground and wrapping it around his waist. "You said our son…he's alive?" She only turns her head over her shoulder.

"Aye, he is."

"Where is he?" Although David is much older, his time as a wolf has slowed his aging progressively, thus looks about in his fifties; a well-muscled and well -endowed fifties. Guilding shakes her head, turning her head away. "You do not know?"

She sighs, "it's not that I know not, it's that I just—"

"Where is he?" Lorana says, her voice filled with both panic and joy, she covers herself with her arms as much and best she can. "Where is my son?"

"I only gripped him and raised him, where he wandered from there I do not know," Guilding says, walking again. "We must make haste in our search, we aren't the only ones searching for him."

"Who else?" David asks,

She looks over her shoulder again, shadows darkening her eyes. "Three witches; the very three that cursed him and you. Now…come."

David looks at Lorana, then at her naked body—however partially covered, she still has vast body parts showing; his mouth waters and he's hard, but he swallows the pain and need for her, taking off the burlap and handing it to her. "here, you need it more than I." she takes it, wrapping it around her body, her eyes looking down at his manhood.

"Dear, your—"

"it's not as bad as it looks." Bollucks, of course it's bad, but he'd never tell her that. She sighs, shaking her head and taking his hand.

"I missed you like this." He smiles, leaning down and kissing her cheek as they both begin walking after the angel.

"And I you, sweeting."

* * *

**Yayy! They are human again, thank you angel of the Lord. :D **

**New characters, got to love them. Next chapter will be more Gabriella and Troy-they will meet (again) in the next chapter, but I wanted to show David and Lorana...so, what do you think?**

**What do you think of Guilding, angel of the Lord? -hey! Can you guys draw me a picture of what you think Guilding looks like from the description that you read in this chapter? I am curious. :D**

**Thanks for reading, much loves,**

**Elena xxx**


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